With A Spark
by define.fabulous.xo
Summary: There were laws to keep them alive. You didn't play with the dead. You didn't forget to cast circles when playing with fire. You didn't let the humans know you existed. You didn't fall in love with them. By breaking one, she's breaking them all.
1. Prologue: With First Blood

_Disclaimer: I do not own HSM, Night World, or any other idea your thinking of._

**WITH A SPARK**

**PROLOGUE: WITH FIRST BLOOD**

_Salem, Massachusetts, 1692_

The tree was an oak. Full, massive and sturdy, it had drawn her attention before on her walks around the outskirts of the town. It had stood out to her then with its artist's pallet of color during the autumn months, but now it had come into its full summer magnificence. The leaves flashed in the sun as it settled behind the hill and cast shadowy branches along the ground and amongst the crowd of people.

Voices could be heard behind her, but she kept her head down. The sun felt warm on her bare head; they would not even allow her the dignity of wearing her cap. She heard the officials' words, reading the condemnation and the penalty attached to it. Her throat went dry. The woman ahead of her wailed, the man behind her prayed the Lord 's Prayer. She wondered if it would stop after this.

She had seen it coming, although she had not known the form it would take. Simply, there had been a black sheen over the milk one morning, and a noose hanging in the wind. A flash of the future and then nothing; she was once again alone in the kitchen preparing breakfast for the children. It would come as other times had come, and then it had. She hadn't expected it to come in the form of spoiled children.

It was time. The line had moved forward, falling until it came to her. She climbed the platform and stood atop the wood. It offered little comfort even with her feet bare; the wood had long been dead. Her head was forced back as the executioner slipped the noose around her neck. It smelled of salt and the sea. A quick flutter of her eyelashes and she saw that they had taken it from the docks at Salem Town.

When her eyes opened for the final time, she was met with the face of the child standing at the foot of the tree. Her arms wrapped around her, the little girl pressed herself under the protective branches of the lowest limb. Tears streaked her face and the woman saw her daughter tremble in anger. She shook her head gently and offered her a weak smile. She would be cared for by the others. They would protect her from the madness.

"Mistress," the town official asked arrogantly, "Do you wish to say anything?"

There were many things she'd like to say, but her daughter would never survive if she uttered them. Instead, she chose only one. Raising her head and clasping her hands together, she looked each of her neighbours in the eye. It bought her time to pull the spindle of undyed thread from where she had hidden it.

"May the Mother accept me into her arms, where those innocently accused go before me. May you find peace and solace in the aftermath of destruction and may love heal the wounds left open to the cold." Bowing her head, she felt the power sink into the spindle. It would do no harm if found by anyone. The spell had been cast. "I am ready," she spoke.

It would be a long time before her final wish would be granted.

The spindle fell to the ground unnoticed by the crowd, and rolled to the base of the tree. Tiny fingers picked it up, twirling it between a forefinger and a thumb. She dared not look up at the tree where its victims hung like apron strings. The spindle still pulsed and the little girl recalled her mother's words. She had told her daughter to forgive, had said that the girls and the village did not know what they did. They did not understand the word they accused them with.

A shadow fell over her and dry, wrinkled fingers touched her shoulder gently. Her grandmother leaned heavily on her cane, grief making her eyes glossy. Her grandmother had escaped the accusations. She didn't know why; didn't the village understand how it worked? They could point fingers and fling the word around but they knew nothing. It was learned. One couldn't be lured to it. It came down the line, parent to child.

"Come, child," Grandmother whispered. "We must go home to your brothers."

"I hate them," the child said, staring past her grandmother to the group of clustered villagers who huddled and discussed the next round of trials. "I hate them all."

"You must learn to forgive them. This will pass as it has before." The angry child pushed her hand away, still griping the spindle and bright fibres. "Do nothing rash that you cannot undo."

She squeezed the spindle one last time, not seeing how the thread changed from grey to red, and then dropped it on the path as she walked away. No one saw the calloused hand that stooped to pick it up before placing it in his pocket. Up on the hill, outlined by the lowering sun, the figures swayed on the branches of the tree.


	2. With Autumn Leaves

**WITH A SPARK**

**CHAPTER ONE: WITH AUTUMN LEAVES**

_Boston, Massachusetts, Present Day_

Gabriella Montez tapped her pencil against the coil of her notebook and caught her bottom lip between her teeth. A textbook lay open on the counter, its pages exposing an array of mathematical formulas that were the basis of her advanced pre calculus class. It was only a month into school and already she felt overwhelmed by the homework and bored by the actual content. Sighing, she attacked the first problem, stopping only to swipe at the thick bangs that continuously flopped into her vision. The rest of her hair was thrown up in a messy bun and held there with a clip. Stopping to think, she toyed with the pendent around her neck, sliding it up and down the chain.

It had been a slow Saturday at the store with only a handful of regular customers and two or three strangers. Gabriella had chatted with those she knew and offered advice when needed, steering the two college students who had stepped off the sidewalk out of curiosity towards the scented incense and good luck charms (no need to worry about them mixing things they shouldn't). During the lulls, she had done homework and watched the clock tick the minutes by. Saturdays meant she was by herself until noon when the other part time employee showed up, and today he was running later than usual.

Putting down the pencil, Gabriella straightened her back to work out the kinks. Standing behind the counter was uncomfortable despite her favourite pair of black boots, but she had her eye on a young girl considering the selection of scented candles in the front room and didn't want to lose her to one of the back corners of the property. Gabriella loved her aunt's store in downtown Boston. Nestled into one of the historical stone buildings, _Pathos_ was tucked between a book store and a small accounting firm. A set of narrow stone steps led to a heavy wooden door that fit with the authenticity of the building. Three large, arched windows spanned the front of the store, allowing light to float in and settle around the customers for most of the day. Only a small antique sign hung above the door outside, the name spelled out in the original Greek alphabet.

Inside, time stopped. Or that's how Gabriella always felt. Maybe it was because she always seemed to be working each time she entered, but she could never be sure. The floor boards were sanded smooth and stained a dark walnut brown. The walls were stuccoed and painted a dark sand tone that blended with the warm light of the wall sconces. Candles flickered in each one. The store was sectioned into three. The outer room, with the cash register, was what welcomed customers. The back wall was lined with shelves that held boxes of incense sticks, candles, oils, perfumes and appropriate holders. Their scents would mix with the smell wafting from canisters displayed on the other wall where herbs were carefully labelled and bagged by weight or careful calculations. The air always held a heavily perfumed scent that was overpowered by cedar, lavender and hibiscus.

Strewn about the room still, on display tables or cabinets, were scarves or purses and bags, or other accessories brought in from dealers in various countries. Greece, India, the West Indies. Simple jewellery pieces were paired with items on mannequins, but they were only a lure. The arched doorway just past the cash register opened into a room of shiny silver, muted gold, and sterling or copper. Pieces already completed and available for sale were laid out among the baskets and containers of stones, precious gems and glass beads. Metal links were sold by the bag and clasps were carefully laid out with instructions. Classes were available if you knew to ask.

Directly behind the cash register where Gabriella stood, was a small doorway designed like servant entrances. Its door was heavily locked when no one was around and a sign told visitors it was for staff only. Anyone who was observant enough would notice that for such a small shop, it had a significantly sized staff. From behind the counter, Gabriella could see anyone in the front room. They were the ones that mattered. The girl had moved on from the candles and was fingering a small figurine from Mexico carved from polished stone.

_Pathos_ had two sets of clientele. Those who knew the shop and came as frequently as someone goes to the grocery store or to their favourite yogurt stand, and those who wandered in off the street out of curiosity. The former bought items that they considered household necessities. The latter would finger the pretty items and sometimes buy something exotic or spicy to make them feel enlightened or unique. Gabriella didn't care. She knew how to weed out who was who and serve them all effectively.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Gabriella asked politely, stepping away from her homework to slip behind the register.

"Yes," the girl replied automatically and Gabriella smiled as she wrapped the two items and placed them in a bag before tallying the order. "I was just walking by; I don't think I've ever noticed this place."

"$15.75, please." Gabriella waited while the girl fished cash out of her wallet. "And we've been here awhile, but it's a quiet street." Gabriella handed back the girl's change and held the gift bag until she accepted it. "Enjoy your day, Sarah."

She flashed a bright smile at Sarah when she turned around in surprise. She didn't say anything though before pushing the door open and stepping outside. Gabriella smirked, sorting the receipt into the register tray. The bell tinkled over the door as someone entered the store. There were a handful of footsteps before Gabriella looked up at the smell of chocolate.

"You are so awesome," she exclaimed. "Even if you are almost an hour late."

"Your aunt said come after practice. It is after practice." Chad Danforth raised an eyebrow and dared Gabriella to disagree. "Is it not?"

"You could have come a little faster. Or called me to make sure I was still awake and we weren't being robbed blind." Gabriella took the hot chocolate from his hand and noticed he had one of his own.

"Slow day?" he asked, dropping his back pack behind the counter and leaning across so they faced each other. "Is that why you were smirking when I walked in after passing an extremely pale girl who was holding one of our bags? You got bored?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes and stood up straight, digging her hip into the countertop. Chad Danforth had been her best friend since elementary school when she transferred from the school in Salem. He had been bouncing off the classroom walls, tossing and catching a basketball while chanting the Boston Celtics cheers. She distinctly remembered that he had silver glitter in his hair. He told the teacher he was trying to make light. The teacher told him to funnel his imagination into his art work. Gabriella waited until no one was around and smacked him for being careless. They became inseparable. They went to school, they played, they studied, they hung out, and they worked together. They knew each other's secrets.

"Eight people, Chad. Eight. All morning! Of course I got bored." Gabriella looked down at the floor, embarrassed that she had let herself lose control when she was always chastising him for flirting with fire. "I just called her by name when I was telling her good-bye. Nothing big."

"I should tell Aunt Bridget that you're toying with the humans." Chad quirked and eyebrow at Gabriella's withering look. "Or you can let me have a teeny moment of fun this afternoon to put me in a good mood for the game tonight. In the best interest of me not turning Finnley Warren into a spoon."

"You can't turn the teapot into a spoon; I have little faith in you succeeding with Warren," Gabriella retorted. She sipped her hot chocolate, smiling behind the rim of the cup.

"Oh, so that's how it is, is it?" Chad teased, spinning and planting his hands on the counter behind his back. Hoisting himself up, he turned to watch the street below for a moment before looking down at her. "You get called to the Circle and now you're an expert? Are you turning things into spoons? Sharpay Evans, perhaps?"

"Chad, none of us turn anything into spoons. And Sharpay? That would just be tacky. Rhinestones would fall off into your tea." But damn, that would be fun, she thought and Chad chuckled out loud. "Shut up. The Circle is a big deal. I'm lucky enough to be allowed in after what my parents did; I will not lose everything that Aunt Bridget has built. They would take everything, Chad, and you know it."

"Gabi, chill, alright?" he told her, dropping the grim to look at her evenly; seriousness replacing the mirth in his eyes temporarily. "Embrace it."

The Circle was the inner council of their community; made up of Elders. Gabriella frowned at the thought. An Elder was not determined by age although they could not be younger than sixteen. At seventeen, Gabriella would be the youngest called in over thirty years. Elders were chosen based on their talent and their gifts; only those in the inner circle were allowed access to certain knowledge. A calling to pledge to their laws and govern did not come with the option of turning it down; and if you broke the vows, the punishment was...The punishment was well known to Gabriella. Chad's hand covered hers and squeezed gently until she looked into his eyes again.

"You're ready for this. They wouldn't call you to pledge this early in the year if they didn't think you were ready." His hand left hers and leapt at her hair, tussling the curls. "And of course I'm right. Why would you doubt that?"

"That wasn't doubt you felt," Gabriella told him, hearing voices on the stairs outside, "That was—" The bell sounded over the door as customers entered as Gabriella came out from behind the counter. Looking back over her shoulder at Chad who had his eyes on the girls, she glared warningly.

"I know, I know," he mumbled, taking his place at the cash and piling Gabriella's books out of the way. "No playing with the humans."

He hoped they got more than eight customers, while outside the leaves were swept against the glass panes of the windows.


	3. With One Glance

**WITH A SPARK**

**CHAPTER TWO: WITH ONE GLANCE**

The gymnasium at East High was already vibrating with commotion when Gabriella pulled into the parking lot. Slipping out of the driver's seat, she did a quick hair check in the window before clicking on the alarm and rushing to the gym, hauling her bag over her shoulder as she went. She could hear the cheerleaders leading the crowd in pre-game chants as she approached. Handing her ticket to the girls manning the entrance to the gymnasium, Gabriella took a moment to straighten out her red tank top and white cardigan combination beneath her red and black plaid pea coat. Feeling her racing heart slow down now that she was assured not to miss tip off, Gabriella entered the gymnasium and searched for an empty seat or a familiar face.

"Gabriella!"

Following the sound of her name, Gabriella located Taylor among the boisterous crowd and began shouldering her way through the people. Climbing the bleachers, she made it to the seat beside Taylor just as Principal Matsui turned off the music and introduced the teams coaching staff. Letting her bag fall to the ground, Gabriella stood with the rest of the audience as the East High basketball team's starting line-up was announced, putting two fingers to her mouth to whistle when Chad was called. He must have heard, because he turned to the crowd and winked, his grin stretching across his face until the buzzer sounded to take position.

The fans settled down, taking their seats to watch the game. The quietness rushed to fill the echoes in the gym and Gabriella finally managed to greet Taylor. Taylor McKessie was one of Gabriella and Chad's closest friends. She had transferred to East High from Albuquerque, New Mexico in the ninth grade and quickly clicked with both best friends. Being from a place rooted in native culture and tradition as well as ancient Aztec custom, Gabriella had always found that Taylor's power was as subtle as the wind and smelled like the desert. Sometimes she had to turn sideways and focus on something just off center to see the pulsing copper sparkle beneath Taylor's dark skin. The subtlety of it also caused Taylor to keep even the smallest impulse under tight control.

That was why Gabriella always found Taylor's fidgeting during games nerve racking. Both girls understood the game; with Chad as a friend, how could they not? They knew the rules and the guidelines and signals. They knew what each player brought to the table and the ins and outs of the coaches' playbooks. The difference was that Taylor didn't need any of it to guess the outcome of the game; she didn't even need to guess.

"How bad is it going to be?" Gabriella asked Taylor, her eyes leaving the court and moving to the ring on her friend's left hand.

"They'll win," Taylor assured her in a distracted voice while her eyes flicked over the court at lightning speed.

"You have been spinning that ring in intervals of seven since tip off. If they don't lose, then Chad fucks up. So how bad is it?" Gabriella kept her voice low. Her hand itched to lash out and halt Taylor's motions but she knew better than to interrupt whatever she was doing. Trying to create luck if Gabriella had to guess. "Does he get hurt?"

"No. Chad will be fine. He scores the winning point." Taylor paused, licking her bottom lip and Gabriella knew she was thinking. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it. I just want them to have a really good pre-season. They don't even plan to cut people from the team until after Halloween."

It was clearly something. Gabriella could tell by the way Taylor watched the play, scanning over everyone and then stopping to watch someone in particular. Shrugging, Gabriella put it aside. Taylor wasn't one to flaunt that particular vein of her gifts and Gabriella frequently mentioned how glad she was to not deal with it. It had limitations of course. It wasn't like Taylor went around with the next five years in her head. She was lucky if she got a glimpse of anything more than an hour ahead, and it was confined to what she would see. If she had decided to stay home that night and skip the game, she'd know nothing of it until someone called and told her. It came and went on a whim, unlike Gabriella's ability to profile someone within six seconds of being in the same room with them and Chad's talent for picking up on emotions and inner turmoil. Returning her focus to the game as East High scored, Gabriella let Taylor's comments go.

"Troy's on a roll tonight," Taylor offered, and Gabriella felt the tension ease between the two of them. When she only nodded, Taylor shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry about before, if you really want to know..."

"No, it's fine," Gabriella replied. "I don't need to know. You're right; Troy's playing really well."

Taylor nodded and the two relaxed into silence, following the quickly moving red and white players on the court as they wove between the blue and gold of their opponents. As the scoreboard ticked by the minutes and the points, Gabriella felt herself become antsy in her seat. Her fingers itched to do something and her blood pulsed as if speeding towards the end. Breathing became hurried and sweat appeared on her forehead. She felt a tingle on her wrist and looked down, her vision narrowed and the images distorted. Her unease lessened slightly and Gabriella looked at Taylor.

Her jaw was set in a tight line, her eyes still watching the court. Her body seemed untouched by the symptoms Gabriella had felt but Taylor's lack of concern put her on edge. Pulling her wrist out of her friend's grasp, she rubbed the skin where energy had passed between them. Taylor had felt her discomfort and yet...

"What in the name of the Upper Planes was that?" Gabriella gasped, finally able to form words as she battled back against the anxiety. Her stomach churned and she swallowed painfully. "Is that?" she corrected as she sucked in a breath.

"Just breath," Taylor whispered, reaching to squeeze her hand again.

"I am breath-." Gabriella froze.

On the court below them, two West High players advanced on Chad's co-captain, Troy Bolton. Dribbling the ball in and out between his legs, Troy flashed the boys from the other team a cocky grin and spun. His feet left the floor and his arms followed graceful lines as his body arched and the ball left his fingertips. The rubber soles of his sneakers met the hardwood floor at the same time that the ball fell through the hoop with a soft _swoosh_. The crowd broke into cheers, popcorn flying and whistles blasting. Troy had turned to give the crowd a thumbs up.

His eyes locked on Gabriella.

It was only a second and then everything went back to how it was. Troy smiled at the crowd and then jogged off to center court. Gabriella's ears stopped roaring and her heart stopped pounding. She shook herself as the haze wore off and she could see and think clearly. Running her fingers through her hair and gripping it away from her face, she let a breath out through her nose before looking over at Taylor.

"Mother of Creation," she hissed. "Is that what you saw?"

"Sort of," Taylor admitted. "I only saw Troy, actually, and then had this deep feeling of panic. I didn't know it would be you."

"I don't even know what happened." Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut. "It felt like I was being spun in circles until I didn't know which way was up."

"You okay?" Taylor asked, wariness in her voice. "Do you want to-"

"No." Gabriella shook her head to clear the cobwebs. "I'm fine. It's gone whatever it was. Maybe I inhaled too much incense at work this afternoon."

Taylor didn't answer her and Gabriella didn't see the worried expression that remained on her face. East High scored eight more points before the end of the first half. During the break, Gabriella pushed her way through the crowd of people to buy bottles of water for her and Taylor who had remained in the stands to save their seats. Feeling exposed and raw, Gabriella quickly beat her way back to safety high above the basketball court once she had made her purchase. The rest of the game proceeded in a blur, with East High finishing on top and Chad making the final points just before the buzzer sounded throughout the gym and the crowd stood to offer their thunderous support.

Following the flow of bodies down onto the hardwood floor, Gabriella gripped the strap to her bag and kept her eyes on Taylor's back. The warm heat of bodies crushed against her and made her feel trapped. She needed air and the lingering headache made her wish for space and the cool outdoors. Voices and loud cheers reached her ears and Gabriella realized that the team had remained on the court to greet friends and family.

"Gabi!"

Chad's hands looped around her chest from behind and squeezed her in excitement, spinning her around before planting her on the ground and facing her with a huge smile. It faltered for a moment and his eyes narrowed, searching her face and then looking at Taylor. Gabriella wondered what he had felt. She wasn't even sure how she felt.

"I'm fine," she told him quietly.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I can't even seem to pick up on something concrete."

"It's over. I'm okay."

"Can you wait for me? I'll drive you home and then walk from there." Gabriella considered protesting but opted against it. People crushed closer. The smell of sweat and heat swept over her. "Troy!"

"Chad, bro!" Gabriella heard his voice in her ear; his breath on the back of her neck. Her blood sparked for an instant. He was directly behind her. "Jason's parents gave the go ahead for crashing at his place! You in?"

He was all she felt and then it was yanked away. Chad's arms were around and he was keeping her steady. "Yeah, I just have to drive Gabi home and then I'll be there."

The air cleared as the crowd thinned. Taylor was on the outskirts watching her as she rubbed at her temple. What the hell was going on? Was she allergic to something? Popcorn? Or guy's deodorant? Shaking her head, she pulled away from Chad and tried to get out of the way as Troy moved to sandwich her between them. His bare arm brushed against hers and she tensed, waiting for the impact for the third time that night.

Nothing.

Surprised, she looked at him, eyes wide. It hadn't happened. She hadn't felt a single flare; she hadn't reacted to his touch at all. The team pulled away from among the fans and Gabriella stumbled towards Taylor. Bursting out into the cool night air, Gabriella inhaled until her lungs hurt. Outside, her frayed nerves reknit themselves and her blood slowed to its even and natural pump. Out there, the gymnasium and its occupants seemed very far away.


	4. With Subtle Changes

**WITH A SPARK**

**CHAPTER THREE: WITH SUBTLE CHANGES**

Monday morning found Gabriella hurrying up the steps of East High with one hand on the strap of her bag and the other clamped over her woollen pageboy cap. Leaves swirled around her feet, their rustling the only sound in the school yard reminding her how late she was. The wind followed her inside, executing one last attack on her already tasselled curls before the door slammed behind her. Stray students were at their lockers and they took a precious moment to glance her way before continuing their rushed search for books.

Ripping the hat off of her hair, Gabriella took the staircase to her left and ran up the two flights of stairs. At her locker, she extracted her notebook and her English text before jamming her bag and jacket inside and banging the red door shut. Trying to fix her hair based on the reflections she could see in tiny door windows as she walked down the hall, Gabriella paused outside homeroom to smooth down her black knit sweater and dark purple, loose fitting tee. Pushing open the door, she was instantly aware of all eyes on her as she interrupted Ms Darbus' introduction of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

"Miss Montez, how nice of you to join us. Since you found it unnecessary to be present for the beginning of my lesson, would you please supply us with your understanding of the purpose of the three witches at the opening of Act One?" The teacher, with her faded and puffy blonde hair and rhinestone encrusted reading glasses, offered Gabriella a fake smile of encouragement. Gabriella, not in the mood and personally harbouring a deep hatred for the discussed scene in the play, chose to ignore her. "Miss Montez."

It was not phrased as a request and the teacher's voice had hardened to a sharp edge that Gabriella had witnessed being carved into other students. Anger simmered in her veins and while she attempted to rein it back under her control, she felt bombarded by Chad and Taylor's anxious presences and the irritation that came at her from the teacher. Before Ms Darbus could address the matter further, Gabriella looked over her shoulder and caught the teacher off guard by directly meeting her gaze.

Stamping down on the woman's will and impressing her own thoughts into her brain, Gabriella bore down with the strength of her power. Eyes flashing, she would have stood there all day with Ms Darbus in a trance if Chad hadn't tossed a basketball across the room in the direction of Zeke Baylor's head and broke Gabriella's concentration. Ms Darbus blinked while Gabriella simply turned back to finding a blank page in her notebook. The whole event had taken less than two minutes and the students in the room paid little attention to their typically flaky teacher who fluttered her eyelashes and took a moment to redirect herself.

"Yes, of course," she muttered, flipping absently through her play book until regaining full awareness again. "Now the scene opens with Duncan and Malcolm with a sergeant at a military camp near what we are told is the area of Forres. Mr Bolton, can you read me Duncan's first set of lines?"

"I thought I was the First Witch." Gabriella cringed, lowering her eyes to the page she had opened.

"Dude, you're Duncan. Just get on with it. Do you want to be a girl dancing around a fire?" Chad asked, elbowing his friend while glaring at Gabriella across the room.

"No, but she said we were reading Act One, Scene-"

"Scene Two, Bolton. Read," Gabriella cut in, looking up to nudge him into complying. His blue eyes narrowed and he looked away.

"Whatever. I'm Duncan, but Montez can quit staring at me like she's going to murder me. I don't find her that scary." Troy cleared his throat before speaking. "What bloody man is that? He can report, As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt, The newest state."

Gabriella vaguely heard the play being recited between various members of her class as she watched Troy Bolton's face for the next hour. Due to being late, she had been passed over for receiving a part, and due to her overly impulsive reaction to Ms Darbus' goading, she had made sure the woman avoided her for the next week. Gabriella knew better than to let her emotions override the control built into her as a child. Yet, it wasn't Ms Darbus that had her mind whirling; it was Troy.

Troy Bolton was Chad's best guy friend despite being human (and not knowing that Chad was not). Gabriella's people tended to have girls more often than boys, leaving the number of possible guys who shared the same interests, age and school district as Chad to be one. Warren Finnley played for West High and still remembered when Chad put frogs in his bed one Samhain festival and told him they were the spirits of real frogs used in spell potions. Hence why Chad and Troy were best friends and Warren and Chad wanted to turn each other into spoons.

With the perfect hair that even girls would kill for and clear blue eyes that never seemed to match a shade of blue but be something all their own, Troy was every high school's classic sweetheart. He was co-captain of the basketball team. His dad coached, his mom was a social worker and he was an only child which killed him sometimes when he realized how much pressure it put on him to live up to expectations. His favourite color was green but he preferred to wear blue or red. He was so perfectly molded and so perfectly human in his motions. Graceful by their standards and yet awkward when he didn't even realize it. Like now, when he hesitated over old English words or enunciations he knew were wrong. The tiny pause was heard by no one but whoever would be listening.

Gabriella couldn't affect him.

She'd been nudging him all class, poking out little tendrils of power to get a reaction and nothing. It was unheard of. She knew he'd been brushed by their power before. Chad had stripped his mind once when he walked into the Danforth home while Taylor was sprinkling salt circles in preparation for a festival. Chad had been holding a broom as a compass needle to find North. And there had been that Valentine's Day incident when Taylor and Gabriella spiked their cookies and slipped them to Chad only for them to be shared with the entire basketball team.

So why was it not working now? How had he seen enough of her interaction with Ms Darbus to feel uncomfortable under her gaze? And why was she so bothered by the idea that he might find her intimidating. He was a human; he was supposed to be intimidated. Trying again, Gabriella focused and, in her mind, braided slender strands of energy together and proceeded to let them slither forward like snakes, feeling the way by touch and heat and aura. Reaching Troy, Gabriella ignored Chad's raised and chastising eyebrows and pushed. Nothing. Troy leaned back in his chair and absently swiped at the back of his neck and then itched his head. Puzzled, Gabriella slouched in her seat and glared at the back of his head. He ran a hand through his hair as though her presence was nothing more than a buzzing fly.

_I'll show him what buzzing really_- The end of period bell sounded and her classmates bounded to their feet and gathered their things.

Sighing, Gabriella piled her books into her arms and wove her way toward the door. Students seemed to pause and move one step out of the way without thinking, clearing her path to Chad and Troy who were just ahead of her now. Steeling herself, and biting her lip, Gabriella decided to try one more thing before confronting Chad and Taylor with her problem. Reaching out a hand, she readied herself for the way of panic that had happened at the gymnasium.

"Troy," she called, tapping his bare forearm with her hand, halting him in his tracks. It wasn't like last time at all. The panic was overrun by the feeling of warmth and fire and then a slow burning sensation that made her yank her hand away. His eyes widened at the contact and Gabriella stepped back. "Can you um, tell Chad that I'll meet him in the photography room during free period?"

Troy nodded, his face showing a cloud of confusion and bewilderment. Gabriella watched him walk down the hallway, stop, and then look at his arm. He rubbed it and examined it again. By the time he looked back at her, she had fled into the throngs of students heading to another class.


	5. With Rapid Pulse

**WITH A SPARK**

**CHAPTER FOUR: WITH RAPID PULSE**

The photography room at the far end of the English wing in East High had its door locked from the inside and the 'Do Not Disturb-Darkroom needed for remainder of period' sign hung on the handle. Students passing did not bother to cast a glance in the direction of the room, walking a wide berth around the threshold as if compelled to forget its existence. Not a sound emanated from within; no light leaked from beneath the door.

Gabriella was closing the final set of drapes across the floor to ceiling windows that faced the inner quad when a quick knock sounded at the door and the handle clicked open to reveal Chad and Taylor. It swung shut behind them, the handle locking into place and a flash signalling that it was once again sealed. A similar flash flared along the seams of the curtains. They were safe. Uneasily, Gabriella leaned against a desk. Her arms crossed over her chest and her bangs covering her face as she stared at the floor. Moments passed before she heard Chad toss his backpack on a desk and drag a chair to the empty spot in front of her. Taylor, soundless as usual, took a seat atop a desk.

"He has a mark." Chad broke the silence. His voice was low and noncommittal. He sounded neither angry with her nor careless about the situation. The words changed the course of the conversation that Gabriella had rehearsed in her head.

"How bad?" Taylor asked as Gabriella bit her lip and stayed quiet.

"It's nothing," Chad amended. "Just a red mark that he thinks is from rubbing at it. The point is that he felt something and he knows it was Gabi. He told me to meet you here and then made a comment about how little hands were stronger than he thought." Chad paused and exhaled heavily. "I couldn't get a clear feel for his thoughts."

"It's expected for him to be confused. We could use that," Taylor pondered. Gabriella let them talk, not sure what she would say that would make the situation any clearer.

"It wasn't confusion." Taylor and Gabriella's heads both whipped up to scrutinize Chad and his observation. "It was blank. A greyness, like fog. If he was confused, it's blocked by something else."

"Gabi?" Taylor called softly, breaking through Gabriella's trancelike state as she tried to process everything into an explanation. "Gabi, what happened when you touched Troy?"

Such a good question, Gabriella thought, still not answering. She had felt the rush of heat and the electric shock. Yet, that wasn't what had her head spinning and her adrenaline rushing. That was what Chad and Taylor wanted to know about, but Gabriella wanted to know about the flashing images that had come from it and why they were still burned into her mind. For a moment, she considered telling her friends, but instead she did something she had never done to Chad. She didn't tell him everything.

"I don't know," she whispered. "It felt like fire and cinders between us, but it was also warm; it didn't hurt." She stepped towards Chad and offered him her hand, palm up. "I didn't mean to hurt him."

The palm had a half moon red mark around the base of her thumb and forefinger that stretched along the base of each finger from where she had grabbed Troy's arm earlier that morning. It was barely noticeable except that she knew it looked just like Troy's. It had appeared in the hallway on her way to class and it still tingled with the shock that had jolted her originally. Chad traced it with his fingers as Taylor leaned over his shoulder. When Gabriella didn't flinch at his prodding, he shoved it away and stood up. The chair fell back.

"What were you playing with? In class, Gabriella, during Shakespeare," Chad pushed when he saw that she hesitated. "What were you doing that backfired? He is not a toy!"

"It didn't backfire!" She yelled back. "There was no power in what I did; he did it to me!" Gabriella heard the words escape and knew how ridiculous they sounded. "It happens every time we're in the same room lately!"

"What?" Chad stumbled, being caught off guard clearly written across his face.

"Saturday," Taylor finally interjected, leaving behind her heavy thinking. "At the game."

"You flinched." Recollection was dawning on Chad as he remembered. "On the court after the game, when you realized he was behind you. You flinched."

"We didn't burn each other then," Gabriella added. "But yes, it's been happening since Saturday. And today in class, he could sense me. I felt it. He rejected me; everything I sent at him, it came back." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I just want to figure out what it could be."

"You know what it could be, Gabi." Her eyes met Taylor's black ones.

Pity and concern and seriousness were swirling in their depths along with the same look that came with her Sight. Yet, there was something new, something unexpected by Gabriella that she recognized as well. Distance. By presenting the possible option to Gabriella, Taylor was distancing herself from the implications. Seeing Taylor, feeling the shift in the air as Chad picked up on Taylor's mood, had Gabriella's deeply hidden and denied thoughts surface to float just below the surface.

"It's not," Gabriella ground out through clenched teeth. "And you would do well not to mention it."

"Gabi, she's right. The passing of power without channelling is classic evidence," Chad replied quietly, his head bowed. She heard the pain in his voice.

"Yeah? And do we remember the _classic_ consequence for it? I would know if it was and it's _not_." Gabriella's chest heaved and tears burned in her eyes. "It's not. There has got to be another reason. I'll figure it out. You can both leave now."

"Gabi-," Taylor began, her voice sounding pleading and relieved at the same time. Gabriella felt her nerves fraying and her control with it.

"Just leave."

Turning to face the covered windows, Gabriella didn't look to see Chad and Taylor gather their things and leave through the locked doorway. When she was sure they were gone, Gabriella let the tears slide down her cheeks as she prayed to the Mother and God to offer an acceptable explanation for what was happening. Angry, Gabriella flung an arm out and sent the drapes back to their original place. Exhausted at the expelled energy towards something so superficial and pointless, Gabriella could barely find the will to attend classes for the rest of the afternoon. Picking up her bag, she left the room with a brief brush of her fingers against the door to remove any lasting effects and removed the sign from the handle. No one stopped her as she headed to the front door while everyone streamed in the opposite direction.

Once outside, Gabriella paused at the water fountain in the courtyard and dipped her fingers into the cool, bubbling water. Closing her eyes, she turned her focus inwards until her mind found what she was looking for. With his hair mussed up from playing basketball on the outdoor court during lunch period, Troy sat in his desk in math class with his back towards the window. A moment later, Chad entered the room and took the seat on Troy's left. The seat in front remained empty. Opening her eyes and breaking her concentration, Gabriella hoisted her bag and turned back in the direction of the parking lot and her car. Two floors up, Chad turned in his seat and watched her walk down the pathway.


	6. With Outside Force

**WITH A SPARK**

**CHAPTER FIVE: WITH OUTSIDE FORCE**

The next day found Gabriella quiet and distracted. By the final period of the day, Gabriella couldn't wait to escape English class and Troy's voice for the comfort and security of her aunt's store. She took a different seat than usual and ignored Chad and Taylor. When something prodded her power, sending a creeping feeling through her hands, Gabriella lashed back without a twitch. Chad was waiting for it though, since he only winced slightly and rubbed a hand over his eyes. Frustrated, Gabriella raised her barriers and buried herself in reading ahead of Act 3 in Macbeth until the bell signalled the end of the day.

Closing her book, she piled it on top of her chemistry notebook and her planner before snuggling the whole pile to her chest with one arm and pulling her bag over her shoulder with the other. Seeing that Chad and Troy were parallel to her as she headed for the door, Gabriella hung back until they disappeared into the hallway. By the time she made it to her locker, the hallways were mainly empty of students. She exchanged her Macbeth text for Physics and added a partially finished lab report and two more notebooks to the pile of homework in her arm and slammed the door to the locker shut.

Noticing a clock on the wall, Gabriella swore under her breath, realizing she was going to be late for her shift at the store. Speeding up, she freed up a hand to fish around in her bag for the car keys. Her fingers grazed against a pencil case and her wallet. She felt the sleekness of her cell phone. She dug deeper, seeking the zippered pocket on the side, just out of her reach. Out of patience, she halted her steps and slipped the bag to her elbow so she could see inside. The sound of running reached her ears, along with the sound of the front door being pushed open, just as something slammed into her.

"Oh fuck," Troy told her, scrambling to stand up. "I am so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Gabriella told him quickly. She untangled the bag around her arm and bent down to gather her things that had been scattered in front of the entrance. "Yeah. It's fine."

"Here, let me help." Troy's crouched down across from her and reached for the planner. "I'm really sorry."

"I know. It's fine." Gabriella knew she sounded rude but the air in the entrance way was crushing and her cheeks were burning with heat as she shoved the proffered planner into her bag, being careful not to touch him. "I wasn't expecting anyone to come through the door. I shouldn't have stopped."

"I forgot my pre-calculus homework in my locker and if I don't have it done by class tomorrow, Norton will have my head and my place on the basketball team," Troy explained. "What's your excuse?"

"Sorry?" She had been thinking that he needed to stop talking so she could think clearly. Her stomach was swirling and her hands were sweating in nervousness. Troy's presence was all she could think about as she unconsciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and tried to remember what he had asked her. "Oh, I was just waiting for everyone to leave the parking lot so I could avoid the traffic. I need to make that left onto Hector Avenue and you know how impossible that is when everyone is trying to get home." She winced at the sound of the awkward giggle that escaped her. He was going to think she was a complete airhead. Wait, since when did it matter? Shaking her head, Gabriella heard Troy agree with her. She stood with her text book in her arms and the rest of her things placed in her bag where they should have been originally.

"There," Troy declared with a smile that Gabriella realized changed the color of his eyes. "Everything is where it belongs and you're still in one piece. Lucky I didn't knock you over. That is not the skirt to be wearing when you land on the ground."

"Excuse me?" Gabriella snarled as Troy's face went beet red and he tried to recover himself.

"No, not like that! I didn't mean that-! It's a very nice skirt, it's just short and sort of flouncy and if you'd fallen it may have-," he swallowed a few times while Gabriella glared. "It's good you didn't land on the ground. It's a very nice skirt. You look very nice in it."

"You're complimenting me on my skirt?" Gabriella asked him. Her heart banged against the sides of her ribs and she noticed the distinctive rise in her voice. "Seriously?"

"Um, yes?" He was rubbing the back of his neck and offering her an apologetic gaze. Seeing Gabriella's frown deepen, the smile disappeared. "Shit," he swore, pacing in front of her, "I'm so screwed. Chad said you would say no but I wanted to try and I was going to ask tomorrow but then I ran you over and now you're going to say no."

"Say no to what? Troy, what are you rambling about?" Gabriella demanded.

"I was going to ask you to the Halloween dance and when I mentioned it to Chad, he said you'd say no. Which I realized is true because you barely know me and yet I would look like some sort of stalker because I think you're beautiful and amazing and smart and I saw you in the stands on Saturday and since then I can't get you out of my head." Troy paused and when Gabriella said nothing, he continued. "But Chad said you would say no so I thought I would try to get to know you and maybe then I wouldn't seem so creepy. I had this plan to ask you to tutor me in pre-cal because I really am sucking at it, but now you think I'm a pervert who stares at your skirt and you will never let me within a hundred mile radius of you and Chad is going to kill me. And I'm going to fail pre-cal."

It hadn't occurred to Troy that Gabriella's lack of response was due to an inner panic attack. Taylor's warning came crashing back to her, the words swirling in her brain along with the instinctive need to run. He was human. This couldn't be happening. Why would the Maker and the Mother do this to her? She was too young and a Witch for all the planes' sake! She could not be Bonded to Troy. It had to be something else. No difference, she told herself, straightening her back and telling her body to obey. Anything done could be undone, Aunt Bridget always taught her, but not everything should be undone. Some things were meant to happen and without them, the world would rip at the seams until no amount of magic could repair it. Love was different, Gabriella knew. Unless you were Bonded to the person, it was never naturally supposed to happen. Which meant this thing with Troy, this _draw_, could be undone. She wasn't meant to be Bonded to a human. No witch was.

"Chad was right." Her sudden statement after the languishing silence seemed to startle Troy who instantly looked crestfallen. "I'm saying no. I can't go with you to the dance and I can't tutor you. Martha Cox is in our class though, and she runs tutoring circles in the gym during free period and in the afternoons. Talk to her." Gabriella had been meeting his gaze straight on and in a last chance effort, forced a tiny sliver of Power through her words to convince Troy that this was what would happen. He would go to Martha. Turning, she had almost walked away when his hand wrapped around her wrist and Troy tugged her to his chest. His eyes were so clear close up.

"Why can't you?" He searched her gaze and found nothing, yet Gabriella felt everything. His hand was warm on her wrist and she was overwhelmed by the scent of pine and cedar. She felt the ebony of piano keys under her fingers before she heard the chants of the crowd at a basketball game. Tears pressed against her eye lids as she jerked away.

"I just can't," she insisted. "Just like how you can't tell your teammates you play piano. I have my reasons."

"How do you know about the piano?" he asked, his voice quiet and incredulous. Gabriella felt his eyes all over her.

"It's doesn't matter. I'm going to leave and tomorrow it will be like this didn't happen." She met his gaze. "You cannot tell Chad about this, understand? None of it."

Then she pushed through the front door and ran down the front steps. When she was sure Troy hadn't followed her, she ran to her car and tossed her bag in the front seat. Turning the key in the ignition, she spun out of the parking lot. Making the left onto Hector, Gabriella began compiling a list of shopping items she would need at Pathos. She hoped it was a slow afternoon. She didn't want anyone asking questions.


	7. With Impulsive Retaliation

**WITH A SPARK**

**CHAPTER SIX: WITH IMPULSIVE RETALIATION**

The back room in Pathos was awash with lights. The torches that lined the walls had been lit and their light cast a steady glow while flickering against the stones. The door to the main room was closed shut. Gabriella had arrived for her shift after school and relieved Cleo, her aunt's assistant manager, until Aunt Bridget arrived after supper. She had brought pasta for Gabriella from the bistro down the street and after eating, Gabriella had begged to be allowed to work on her necklace in the back room.

She had made a big show of leaving the door open at first, and laying out her tools. The pliers, the tweezers, the wire coils and clasps—she lined them up on the broad panelled oak table that took up much of the room. Then she laid out her started necklace with its palm sized red-brick coloured centerpiece of Jasper. Gabriella had begun to coil gold plated wire around the outside in tiny circles that slowly worked their way outward. She planned to add bits of yellow and darker red stones in a specific pattern that would draw positive energy, but she had other things to do.

Gabriella had waited until a customer arrived and the shut the door discreetly to give the allusion of hiding her work from outsiders. Giving up the charade of searching through bins of stones in search of the perfect fit, she set to work filling a plain brown gift bag with items. First went a small copper bowl, a set of cedar matches and a stick of thistle infused incense. Next she carefully selected a tiny opal stone that would contain her spell. Tucking the bag inside her backpack, Gabriella slipped into the main room and looked for any customers. One was with her aunt by the front window, gesturing at a set of candlesticks on display.

"Gabriella?" her aunt called, raising an eyebrow when she saw a tiny wooden bowl in her hands.

"I'm looking for something to burn with my incense to get rid of the musty smell in the backroom," she told the older Montez woman who nodded before turning back to the client.

Letting out a breath she'd been holding, Gabriella quickly measured out her final ingredients into the bowl. She would bag them in the back room to transport home. A sprig of huckleberry would repel bad magic, the inner pistons of a lily would end a relationship, the ground dust of pistachios and turnip root would also help sever romantic feelings. As an afterthought, Gabriella grabbed a handful of prickly thistles to add to the incense and add extra protection. She hurried back to the workroom.

The book she needed was easily reached. It wasn't a hard spell to cast; one of the first she was allowed to toy with as a young girl. She and Chad and Taylor would mix up love potions and slip them to classmates only to later slip them the counter concoction later. Teenagers were easy targets to play with, with their hormones all out of whack anyway. No one questioned flirtations that lasted a day or crushes that appeared without warning. The edges of the book were well worn, its cover cracked and the leather dry. Gabriella flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for.

She and Troy both had to come in contact with her spell. She didn't want to simply stop her feelings for Troy, she wanted Troy to not feel anything either. She needed him to want to be as far away from her as possible. Her plum polished finger skimmed down the page, halting on alternatives to liquid forms of the potion. She could hide it in solid objects. It could be manipulated to be specific to Troy. That would make it stronger. Gabriella set to work.

The opal would be the centerpiece for a ring. Gabriella began wiring it to a base, twining and coiling the wire into an intricately smooth band. She had to ensure it wouldn't come or be so uncomfortable that she would take it off. Pinching off pieces of herbs and flowers as she went, Gabriella hid them under multi-coloured stones that circled around the opal and spilled down the sides. Quietly she worked under the torchlight and the smoke of her incense bowl filled with unused pieces of her ring. Gabriella was concentrated on twisting a piece of wire so perfectly that the hand on her shoulder startled her.

Aunt Bridget was behind her, the doorway to the main shop was darkened; the shop was closed. Gabriella looked first for a sign of people, and then to her aunt's face. It was impassive and Gabriella looked closer for a clue to her thoughts as she took in Gabriella's odds and ends spread around the table. Bridget Montez was in her late thirties with dark brown hair the fell in subdued waves down her back. Her eyes tilted slightly like cats and shone a deep green. Gabriella always marvelled at how smooth and clear her skin was even at her age. Not a crease. She smelled of jasmine.

Gabriella had moved in with Bridget after her parents' death when she was young. Bridget had been a stranger then. She had married Phillipe Montez, the younger brother of Gabriella's father, before Gabriella was born and the couple had left Salem for Bridget's native Boston where they joined a different Circle. Phillipe had died shortly after, leaving Bridget as Gabriella's only living relative able to care for her. Her grandmother still lived in Salem but had been incapable of raising a child. Now, Gabriella could only recall her parents' voices and small snippets of memories. Their pictures were on her desk. Bridget was who Gabriella considered mother, father, aunt, sister. Now she looked pensive.

"Nice ring." Aunt Bridget leaned over Gabriella's shoulder and gently plucked the nearly completed project from her fingers. Her hands were long and tapered. "The turnip is an interesting touch, though."

"How did you?" There was no sense denying it and Gabriella was always surprised by her Aunt's perceptiveness.

"I was doing inventory after you snuck back in here," Aunt Bridget told her with a small smile. "And it's still burning in the bowl." She nodded to the copper bowl of ingredients burning with the incense stick. "So who's it for?"

"What's for who?" Gabriella asked, trying not to stumble over her words. She thought she had succeeded. Aunt Bridget took the seat beside her and pulled the open book across the table so it was within reading view. "Oh. That."

"So who is it for?" her aunt repeated, while beginning to read. "To sever romantic feelings, emotional ties or physical yearning for another." She looked at Gabriella seriously and continued. "To counter the effect of love spells cast knowingly or unknowingly by another witch." Another pause. "Gabi, is there something I should know?"

"It's for Chad." Gabriella had no idea where that came from when she blurted it out, but the rest of the lie was coming. "He was trying to get Taylor to notice him and Troy got involved, so now Chad needs to break the spell because Troy is following her around like a puppy repeating Shakespeare sonnets."

Aunt Bridget looked annoyed. "Gabriella, we have discussed this before, with you and with Chad. You cannot toy with Troy the way you can with some of the others. He's going to notice something one day and then you will all be facing the Circle."

"You mean he could become immune?" Gabriella asked, her mind flicking over every spell gone awry or any weird moment around Troy. "Could he start sensing us? Or be able to deflect us without knowing?" Maybe she finally had her answer; she took the ring back from her aunt and inspected it closer. "Would he even realize what he's doing?"

"No." Aunt Bridget was shaking her head. "He would simply start questioning some things. Like why he suddenly likes Taylor as opposed to being blindly guided towards her with only his emotional reactions caused by the spell. Humans can't sense witches. They may sense specific people, like a Bonded couple does, but Troy wouldn't be able to walk into a room and just _feel_ us."

"But Bonded couples are witches so that wouldn't count, would it? That would mean witches sense witches and we already can do that." Gabriella was genuinely curious, but hoped she didn't sound desperate for information. She should have looked up Bonding while she had access to the books.

"Who said Bonded couples are only witches?" The older woman asked, leaning back in her chair to watch her niece. "Bonding has been occurring for millenniums; not just between our race."

"But the laws say that Humans and Witches can't love each other or be together. How can they Bond?"

"Gabi, our laws do not necessarily match up with Nature's laws or the higher beings. As witches, we have been persecuted and innocents have died with us because of lies and misconceptions and terror. Because of that, we leave humans on the outside. We don't involve them and they don't know about us. It's safer that way and it has been that way for centuries." Bridget took a breath. "Bonding is not a witch thing, it's a nature thing. It's the coming together of two people who are destined to be together. It is knowing the other person completely and understanding them. A person who is Bound to someone already, has found their perfect match. Humans call them soulmates."

"So a witch and a human could be Bonded?" Gabriella pushed, nausea rushing to fill her stomach with turbulence.

"Technically yes," her aunt replied, "But witches have a choice. Our laws say that you can't be with a human; there are consequences to involving them in our world. A witch who is Bonded with a human must sacrifice their love for them, or sacrifice the Circle. Without the Circle, they cannot raise their children with the knowledge of magic, and if already called to the Circle, a witch cannot sacrifice her people and their secrets without death."

"It seems harsh." Her aunt looked at her sharply when Gabriella's breath caught in her throat, strangling her words.

"Harsh is being burned at the stake because a poor race of beings cannot understand power or forces beyond them. Harsh is being lumped in with the demons in the Bible. Our laws are harsh Gabriella because they keep us free to live our lives. If you're to pledge to the Circle in less than a month's time, you best come to grips with our forms of justice. As an Elder, you're subject to the same justice you will be asked to dispense and it's not always easy." Bridget kissed the top of Gabriella's head as she stood. "Enough of this. Let's go home and you can finish fixing Chad's mess yet again."

Gabriella nodded and gathered her things as her aunt checked the exits and warded the doors against intruders. Bridget had walked to the store that evening so they both drove home in Gabriella's car. All the way out of the downtown core, up the hill towards the sprawling estate buildings left from earlier times, she mulled over what she had learned from her aunt. She looked at the unfinished ring on her finger. Despite her knew understanding of Bonding, Gabriella was still convinced that Troy and she were different. She still could fix it, this thing between them.

Yet a part of her struggled to hold back tears.


End file.
